Hostel Inferno suspect to stand trial

An Australian magistrate has ruled that there is enough evidence against the man charged with a hostel fire that killed 15 backpackers, including Limerick woman Julie O'Keeffe, for him to stand trial for murder and arson.

Last Friday at the end of committal proceedings, Robert Paul Long, 37, entered a plea of not guilty for the fire in Childers last June.

During the committal proceedings, a police witness testified that after he was shot, Long confessed to the fire. The confession apparently came because the accused believed he was dying. Other witnesses included survivors of the inferno.

Long was arrested five days after the blaze at the end of a major manhunt. He was the main suspect from the outset after survivors claimed to have heard him threaten to burn down the Palace Hostel.

No date has been set for the trial, which will take place in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.